Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce appeared to benefit from favorable officiating during Sunday night’s AFC Championship win over the Buffalo Bills, as officials seemingly overlooked what seemed like a clear taunting penalty on Kelce. Late in the second quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled out of the pocket and ran for the end zone, ultimately scoring a touchdown.
As Mahomes crossed the goal line, Bills safety Damar Hamlin delivered a hit, sending Mahomes to the ground, prompting an immediate reaction from Kelce. The moment Mahomes hit the turf, Kelce ran up to Hamlin, getting in his face and gesturing while saying something to the Bills defender. While Kelce did not receive a penalty for his actions, Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was penalized for stepping in and head-butting Kelce in an attempt to intervene.
Bills called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Kelce was talking in Hamlin’s face. Phillips came over and hit Kelce in the helmet and got flagged pic.twitter.com/DjjlFZ94V0
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) January 27, 2025
Although it remains unclear what Kelce exactly said, the NFL rulebook states that such behavior should have resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The league explicitly prohibits “abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures to opponents” as well as “baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams.” Given Kelce’s actions of sprinting towards Hamlin after a legal hit, his behavior was clearly taunting and warranted a flag. Yet, the referees chose not to penalize him, leading to fans voicing their discontent on social media.
“Travis Kelce has a special ability in the NFL where he is the only person who is allowed to taunt their opponent and not get a flag called!” one fan commented in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “One of these days dude is going to be laid out on the field,” another person wrote, while another quipped, “They don’t want to lose that Swifty crowd…”.
Many fans speculated that Kelce’s celebrity status, dating Taylor Swift and playing with Mahomes, gave him an unfair advantage: “He could probably hit another player’s leg with a crowbar and not get penalized,” one person chimed in. Another added, “The league wants Taylor Swift since she brings in fans and money that usually don’t watch. It’s all about the money and extra ratings.” Yet another fan stated, “It’s because he’s on the Chiefs. If it was any other team, it would have been a flag.”
Ultimately, the game concluded with the Chiefs securing their third straight trip to the Super Bowl.
